


We'll Always be Together

by KLStarre



Category: Little Mix (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe-Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe-Soulmate Identifiers, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Multi, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Polyamory, The X Factor Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 09:10:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4740812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KLStarre/pseuds/KLStarre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who are they to argue with destiny?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost Girls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShyWriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyWriter/gifts).



> Prompts Fulfilled: Fluff, polyamory, soulmates, angst, 
> 
> I hope you like it! I started two others (the 'lost libraries populated by long dead librarians' and 'a happy pile of lovestruck ladies watching a movie with blankets and candy') but I couldn't get them to work, so this is what ended up happening.

When you’re born, you’re born with the first sentence your soulmate will say to you engraved where anyone can see it. Which is all well and good, except for the fact that it’s bullshit. Jesy Nelson has three different sentences written in three different places on her body, but the fact that she’s twenty and still hasn’t dated anyone proves that she’s undesirable enough that it’s unlikely for her to have _one_ soulmate, let alone three.

            The closest she’s even come to a boyfriend (not that she’s even sure she _likes_ boys, but that’s a problem for another time) was in seventh grade, when someone asked her out on a dare. She had cried when she found out he hadn’t meant it, and then had beaten him up the next day at P.E. That was the last time that a boy came anywhere near her for the rest of middle school, and the girls tended to avoid her, too. Not that she cared. She had her acting, and once in while her singing, and that was enough.

            Then high school came around and there were enough people who didn’t know her that she thought that it would be different. But then one day she wore a sleeveless shirt to school, and people saw two of her sentences-one on the right arm, one on the left (the third was on her lower back, thank god)-and suddenly she was a slut and a lesbian, even though she was seventeen and still hadn’t had her first kiss and had never shown any interest in anyone but boys.

            “Hi, I’m Leigh! What’s your name?” people would say as they passed her in the halls, and “I’m Jade. Jade Thirlwall.” and even though no one had ever seen the third one, the one that said “You were wonderful,” she half expected them to take that from her, too. And yeah, she had friends-people who didn’t care, or who listened when she protested the accusations-but it wasn’t enough.

            And she didn’t know a single person named Leigh or Jade. Or anyone besides her parents who had ever called her wonderful.

∞

            When you’re born, you’re born with the first sentence your soulmate will say to you scrawled across your body. When Perrie Edwards learned how to read, and saw that she had _three_ sentences written in various places across her body-one on her heart, one at the nape of her neck, and one on the back of her right hand-she was confused. After all, wasn’t “soul mate” supposed to mean one?

            So she asked her mother, and her mother was confused too. But after a couple of moments of thought, she had patted Perrie on the head and said, “It means you’ll have three soul mates, dear. All at different times. It means you’ll never be alone.”

            Perrie had been ecstatic. In elementary school, she showed off her words to anyone who would listen. The favorite was the one on her neck, the one that says, “You were brilliant, too!” because, well, who _wouldn’t_ want their words to be a compliment? On her wrist are the words that said, “You were incredible, I hope you get through!” which make less sense, but are still encouraging. No one ever sees the ones on her heart, but she’s okay, because they’re only ones with a name, and that’s private, somehow. And it’s not like there are many people named Leigh-Anne, anyway.

            In middle school, everyone’s words become a focus of gossip and of giggles at sleepovers, as though anyone actually believes they’ll fall in love at 11, 12, 13. Perrie still has a few friends who appreciate her words, but mostly people don’t care, or they mock her for them. Not that she cares. They’re just jealous of her, that’s what her friends and her family always say, so she brushes off the jokes and the insults and walks with her head held high. After all, who cares what other people think? _She_ loves herself, and for now, that’s enough.

            High school, though, high school is different. In high school, she has a boyfriend, and she likes him, likes him a lot. He’s her first kiss and she’s his, and that means something, even though they both know they’re not destined to be together. “Fuck destiny,” they’ll whisper sometimes when they’re lying together under the stars or skipping class or she’s just finished singing to him.

            But then he cheats and they scream and her voice is ruined for days and, well. Destiny doesn’t make it hurt less, so she says it one more time, “Fuck destiny,” and then she doesn’t cry any more. Not even when he finds someone else. Not even when she’s still alone, three years later.

∞

            When you’re born, you’re born with the first sentence your soulmate will say to you inscribed upon your skin. Leigh-Anne keeps it a secret that she has three, because only the one on her arm telling her that her voice is beautiful is visible, and the ones on her inner thigh and her stomach are boring, anyway.

            The ink is black, for her and for everyone she knows, so it is hard to read on her skin. Apparently destiny wasn’t focused on convenience. But it’s okay, because it lets her tell her strings of boyfriends, all throughout middle school and high school, that, yes, of course my words are yours. Of course we’re destined to last forever. Of course of course of course until she gets bored and it ends and there’s yet another boy who has fallen for her looks but never for _her_ and somehow believes that he’s the one.

            Their arrogance amuses her, sometimes. Other times, she feels bad for stringing them along. Most of the time, she wonders why she even bothers, why she dates boy after boy when the faces in her dreams all belong to girls.

            But, well. She doesn’t know a Perrie, or a Jesy, or anyone who has ever told her that her voice is beautiful (besides her parents and her sister, of course, but they have to say that. They don’t count.). So she might as well enjoy herself, and be bored instead of empty.

            She has friends, too, lots of them. Sometimes she thinks that they just stick around because they’re scared of her, or because they want to pick up on her leftovers, or because they want fashion advice.

            Except the first time _a boy_ leaves _her_ , the first time he’s the one to break it off, she finds herself upset and confused and she cries in her best friend’s arms and she thinks that maybe she can live like this. With her, instead of him. Not in love, not even close, but happier than she’s been in a long time, even though she’s never cried this hard.

∞

            When you’re born, you’re born with the first sentence your soulmate will say to you printed along your body. Except Jade Thirlwall has three sets of words, which doesn’t make any sense, because how can you have more than one soulmate? All the Disney princesses that she spent her childhood watching (and long, long past her childhood, too) had one sentence, and fell in love with one person, and that was that, happily ever after, the end.

            Although she knew she was never going to be a Disney princess by the time she started middle school. None of them liked girls, and if they did, they knew how to hide it. She did not, and she didn’t really want to, either.

            Besides, it gave her an excuse never to change in front of the other girls, so they never saw any of her words, besides the last couple letters that showed beyond the long sleeves she always wore. People made fun of her for that, sometimes, for being ashamed of something everyone had, but she didn’t mind as much as she should have. Her friends cared more than she did, and eventually they defended her enough that other people left her alone.

            And she fell in love with one of them. But she doesn’t talk about that.

            In the summer between eighth grade and ninth grade, when she still hasn’t met a Jesy or a Perrie and “thank you” is about as bland as you can get, she repeats her words to herself at night, a whisper that barely rises above her thoughts.

            “Nice to meet you, I’m Jesy.” and “Thank you! I’m Perrie, what’s your name?” and sometimes when people thank her for holding the door, or for getting the mail, or for helping them, she lets herself get excited even though she knows she shouldn’t. (She kisses the friend once, the one she fell in love with, after she thanks her. The friend pulls away, apologizes. She doesn’t mean the sorry, you can see it in her face. Jade regrets it.)

            And then high school and everything is different and she’s awkward and quiet and she doesn’t have a best friend anymore and she doesn’t know a Perrie or a Jesy and no one says thank you anymore.


	2. Found Girls

Jesy never wanted to be a singer. God, why would she? Her voice is weird and deep and shaky but then acting doesn’t pan out and she might as well audition for X Factor because why the hell not, it’s not like she’ll ever amount to anything otherwise. So her mom drops her off outside (she still can’t drive, and the more people tell her she should learn, the less she wants to) but the building hasn’t opened yet and there’s a huge crowd milling about outside and she hates crowds. So she walks around the back, figuring that it’s loud enough that she’ll hear when the doors are opened and that she can avoid everyone until it’s absolutely necessary that she engage in human interaction.

            But, no. There’s someone back there, just leaning against the wall looking up at the sky. It’s a gorgeous black girl, her hair a thing of dreams and her smile as she sees Jesy the kind of thing that could bring someone to tears. Fuck. She’s seen Jesy, so now she can’t walk away without being rude. Why did she ever think this was a good idea?

            “Hi, I’m Leigh! What’s your name?” she asks, and Jesy responds automatically.

            “I’m Jesy, nice to meet you,” she says, and then it hits her what the girl- _Leigh_ -said and they lock eyes.

∞

            Leigh watches the realization dawn on Jesy’s face and allows herself to smile again, running a hand through her hair. Jesy smiles back at her, and Leigh gets the idea that she would be blushing, except her skin is just barely dark enough to stop it. It’s strange, to be honest. Leigh knows she’s beautiful-stunning, even-but for some reason she thought that that wouldn’t affect other girls, especially her soulmate (or one of them). Especially someone as gorgeous as this girl, as Jesy. How could she possibly be blushing at the sight of Leigh when she lived with herself? How was that possible?

            Leigh is jerked out of her reverie by Jesy opening her mouth to speak. “For real?” she asks, and Leigh nods, is about to say something back, when the noise from the front of the building suddenly gets louder and their eyes meet again.

            “I guess we should go sign in, then?” she says, and Jesy shakes herself like she had forgotten what they were here for.

            “I guess you’re right,” Jesy says, offering Leigh what is possibly the cutest smile she has ever seen. Honestly, how can this girl be real?

            Leigh offers Jesy her hand to take, and Jesy seems confused by it, as if no one’s ever tried to hold her hand before. Normally, Leigh would see this as something to be annoyed by, as a sign of weakness, but Jesy is too open, too…sincere. After a moment, Leigh looks away, not sure what she should do, but then she feels Jesy’s hand in hers, warm and sweaty from what Leigh imagines is nerves and she smiles.

∞

            Perrie has never been this nervous for anything ever in her entire life. She got one of the first tickets when she arrived for auditions so she’s standing offstage as the first person performs, unable to even focus on what song they’re singing. She bounces up and down on her toes, shifting her weight back and forth, going over the lyrics to the song she chose in her head. She’s never had stage fright before, she loves singing in front of people, but this is different, this actually matters, and that’s terrifying and oh my god it’s her turn.

            She climbs the three stairs to the stage and walks to the center of it, turning to face the judges, not letting herself look at the crowd. She hadn’t even known there were this many people in _the world_ , and now they were all here. Watching her. Oh, no. She doesn’t want to do this anymore.

            “What’s your name?” one of the judges asks, and Perrie hadn’t noticed before but that’s Kelly Rowland, the _actual Kelly Rowland is going to watch her sing._ She thinks she wants to puke.

            “Perrie Edwards,” she says, should she have said that? Did they want her full name? Has she screwed this up already?

            But another judge smiles at her and nods and the music starts playing and she starts singing and there’s a smile spreading across her face and what the hell had she been scared of anyway? She closes her eyes and lets the song take her and then the music cuts off and she is brought back to herself with a start.

            She opens her eyes and bites her lip and then Kelly Rowland is yelling “Your voice is _crazy,_ yo!” and Perrie might cry, she just might. She bounces on the balls of her feet again, grinning and the grin stays on her face even as one of the judges (Perrie thinks her name is Tulisa) tells her that she likes her but doesn’t love her.

            And then they’re going down the line, yes, yes, yes, yes, and oh my god she made it through the auditions she didn’t even tell anyone she was going to try and now she’s made it through this might just be the best moment of her life.

            She’s shaking a little bit as she walks offstage, from adrenaline and excitement and nervousness and stops herself right before bumping into a girl with brown hair and possibly the cutest face Perrie’s ever seen.

“You were incredible, I hope you get through!” the girl says.

Perrie smiles. “Thank you! I’m Perrie, what’s your name?” she asks.

“Jade, Jade Thirlwall,” Jade says, and Perrie nods and is about to tell her good luck but her name is called and Perrie just watches as she walks onstage.

And then it hits her what just happened. “Wait!” she calls, but Jade is already on the stage.

∞

Jade realizes what happened less than a second after Perrie, and she has to stop herself from turning and running off the stage after her. The judges speak to her and everything is a blur because it’s been so long since she last let herself think about those words, those beautiful, beautiful words and how could anyone who looks like _that_ and has a voice like _that_ possibly be _her_ soulmate (she’s so overwhelmed that she doesn’t even _think_ about the fact that there are supposed to be three of them).

The judges have to ask her if she’s ready twice, and she can feel the blush spread from her neck to the roots of her hair as she nods.

She’s not thinking about the Beatles as she sings her song, I Want to Hold Your Hand, a song she’s been practicing for a year now. She’s not thinking about her voice, or her failed past auditions, or her lost friends. She’s thinking of the girl - _Perrie-_ and her hair and her smile and what it would be like to hold _her_ hand, although she would never admit it. She’s thinking about what it’s like to have hope again, after so long that she had almost given up.

But then her music ends and she’s dragged back into the real world with four blurry people staring at her. _Blurry._ She realizes to her horror that she’s _tearing up._ Onstage in front of people she’s never met about a girl she’s _barely_ met. If the blush was fading before, it’s back now, with a vengeance. She blinks furiously, clearing her vision, and notices for the first time that _Kelly Rowland_ is sitting in front of her, and has just watched her make an absolute fool of herself.

And yet, somehow, even that isn’t enough to make her concentrate on what they’re saying, on the four yeses, and the only reaction she gives to the idea of being in a girl group is a slight twitch in her face.

As she walks off the stage, heart in her chest, Jade Thirlwall thinks that she might be in love.

∞

And so, as the day goes on, they meet each other, as if the universe itself is conspiring to make these four girls come together. They meet each other, and they are given a reason to stay together – they are given Little Mix.

∞

The night they win the X Factor is the best night of their collective lives. They smile at each other as they sing Cannonball, barely registering the presence of tens of thousands of others and backstage they do more than smile.

Perrie kisses Jade and Leigh kisses Jesy and then somehow they’re on the floor, all four of them, a pile of arms and legs and hair and giggling and far too much clothing for anyone’s taste. It comes off, of course, piece by piece, and if it takes longer than it would if it were just two of them, no one complains.

After all, who are they to argue with destiny?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that the ending is a bit abrupt, the deadline snuck up on me.


End file.
